Banishment equals good
by Flareose - Knifepoint Entry
Summary: He didn't find it as horrifying as his friends did when the council banished him after saving Sasuke. As a matter of fact he was happy as could be because of it, since in his mind this was a new adventure for him to explore threw, for him to conquer threw, and hopefully be back in Konoha in the next ten years as he gets bored easily. He just forgot to count the Akatsuki into this.


**Banishment equals good**

**Chapter One: Cool as a cucumber... Until the end that is**

* * *

**_Tuesday_**

**_8/25. Three-thirty two p.m; Naruto's apartment_**

Well…

Naruto didn't know how exactly he managed to do it, but as of stepping into that gate that led into the village earlier Uchiha Sasuke was officially back in Konoha.

He still didn't quite understand how he managed to pull off that win, considering that his _friend, brother, _thingy that he held an unstable bond with did everything in his power to make sure the blonde boy wouldn't breathe again.

From _kill it with fire._ To _I tore out your freaking heart… How exactly are you still standing?_ And lastly _I've broken your damned neck, how exactly are you OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT SURROUNDING YOU!?_

It was a fight that left his bruises having bruises on his body, but that was okay.

He couldn't quite bend his head to the left for fear of snapping it accidentally, but that was okay.

And boy did his body ache in pain… Both physically and mentally from seeing Sasuke's twitching eyes stare at him for a good twenty five minutes or so until the boy proceeded to violently beat him to an inch of his life all the while screaming random people's names… But that was okay.

He think he may have suffered a bit of brain damage and or chakra damage considering for the past ten minutes when they headed back to Konoha his skin was literally sizzling all the while twitching uncontrollably, but that too was okay.

Uchiha Sasuke was back in the village, and that was a good thing.

…

Well he hoped that was a good thing considering he saw Sasuke transforming into some demonic weird being with hands for wings and the eyes of an Orochimaru looking for a good kill, but that was okay.

Well he thought so at least.

The whole day actually ended up pretty okay in his book, and that was a good thing. Because he had a feeling it would be a good ten years before he saw these people again. But that too, was okay.

Of course he'd miss those days with Shikamaru where they would try, the key word being try, and play some shogi or go. Only for him in the end deciding to screw the two games he didn't get - besides that one manga he read about that one kid playing go with that one spirit - and instead beat the lazy genius at a game he did understand, which was a little game of his called Yu-gi-oh - which was also a manga about a boy playing a game with a spirit - which the amount of times he saw Shikamaru curse at the simple game and give him a strange praise in beating him was well worth it, and would be something he missed dearly.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Choji was also someone he'd miss. While they didn't normally speak he'd miss the times the boy would stare in slight horror as he realized that his stomach was a black hole when it came to eating ramen.

He'd miss those rare moments when the boy would read weird poetry about peace and hatred from the books he brought with him on their days off, and the instances he'd wonder if they truly did live in peace and harmony from the past and present leaders of their village, or if there was more that needed to be done. Which in the end they'd both think they were talking like two old coots and order more ramen, much to Teuchi's horror.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

...

He supposed he would miss those random moments with Ino. Maybe, probably. Or maybe not so much at all really. See, they were both florists in their own right and name, so if he happened to need anything concerning which what plant he was growing at the time he usually went to the florist shop; Yamanaka Hana, which was the place Ino's dad ran.

Thing was however he didn't see too much of Inoichi during the times he went to his store, but when he did the man had this dejected look in his eyes almost as if guilt. Didn't surprise him as much seeing as it should have since Shikamaru's dad nearly had the same look when he dropped his guard, which was rare. He didn't really understand those looks, and he probably never would.

Which was fine to him.

Back to that oh so happy blonde however as he got a mental image of her forcing her way through his head and pushing his mental images of her and Shikamaru's dad away, he could say she was a friend as when he was away she would kindly - not really… - let herself into his house and proceed to take care of his plants for him.

So he supposed…

If he perhaps squinted a little…

She was his friend.

If you could overlook that little thing of breaking into his house, and how sometimes when he returned home he would see her sleeping on his couch with a catalog magazine right next to her, then yes, she was his friend.

Of course that image would have been a lot cuter if she didn't tend to snore with the little touch of drool escaping her mouth.

And if you replaced her with a certain pink haired teammate of his.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

They didn't talk much. And when they did Naruto couldn't understand half of what Shino was saying because it felt like he was speaking a language that he'd invent right up on the spot. Whether it was when they were on a mission, or as children searching for bugs and en… Ento… Entomol… Ah forget it, searching for bugs it all tended to fly over Naruto's head.

About the only person that understood Shino during those times was that cousin of his that tagged along with them from time to time when they were still academy students, but even then Naruto hardly understood a word he was talking about either.

One thing he could say however was he would miss those times.

…

As children more than genin really since Shino tended to be bossy as the leader of his team, but he'd still miss them none the less.

Wherever Shino tended to take them it was quiet, and someplace where the boy would be able to think clearly about things, things that concerned his troubled life with people.

So in a secret way - because he's not one to say it out loud or anything - he thanked Shino and that cousin of his.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Hinata was a girl he felt strange around.

That could have mostly been since she'd faint after her first sentence whenever near him, or the fact she would draw courage from his speeches. Either way however it was strange, but not necessarily in a bad way.

He felt since the preliminaries that she needed someone to watch over her, to be there to pick her up when she fell down, to be that polar opposite she needed so she could gain her own strength in her own way.

But unfortunately Sasuke was a little too insane for that kinda responsibility for the time being, and Neji was still kinda awkward when it came to being around the thing he was supposed to protect. So in the end he would have to keep an eye on Hinata until then, something he didn't mind really, as he found it kinda fun to sta- follow and safe guard people.

Her, Hiashi, Hanabi, Neji, Kō, Tokuma, Anko, the Anbu, Asuma, Kurnenai, Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon, Konoha, Ami, Aoba and Kakashi.

…

He'd miss following and safe guarding these people.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

He wouldn't show it because it wasn't his style to do so, but he would miss Kiba.

They got on each other's nerves from time to time, seemed to always have this annoyance about the other and never quite did seem to stop their small rivalry with one another, but that was just their charm.

In a way they did seem like brothers, or at least did the type of things brothers did anyways. From play-fighting to seeing who could out do the other, but having each other's back whenever the situation called for it seemed like something brothers would do. And that in the blonde's book was okay.

It tended to make Naruto smile on the inside, so it was a given plus that Kiba would be someone the boy thought of as family. And it was a bonus that he was wanted as a son by Tsumi, even if the woman didn't show it, the look in her eyes was enough to go on.

…

It was something he had hoped Sasuke would have done, as silly as that sounded. Sasuke had seemed like a brother to the boy the very day they met, and only seemed like that more throughout their lives as teammates.

But…

He should have known the day the boy even looked at him as an equal something would go wrong. He couldn't quite place it, but something in that gut of his told him something would go wrong. Just something.

In the end he blamed his pride and himself for not trying to say something earlier. Truth was there were times countless times when he could have tried, but that knowledge of Sasuke being better at every little thing he wanted to either accomplish in his life or have for himself stopped him, and made him grow with jealousy much to his hidden disgust.

It only brought him closer to the boy however when he realized in a backwards complexion that it must have been something the boy felt about him, that only made him feel guilt in his nights at the hospital.

Because sometimes…

Sometimes he felt like something foul and rotten that was decaying on the inside.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Thinking about Sasuke made him think about the rest of Team Seven, and thinking about that made him hope for the very least that they would be able to move on with their lives, and become stronger when doing so. Because while he didn't understand too much about his sensei what with him being the kinda fellow that was secretive and a little over the top goofy, that didn't mean he couldn't see out of the pair of eyes he was given at birth.

He wanted him to stop visiting that damned stone and finally allow himself to smell the flowers around him. And since he's not there to make that happen with his trusty ol' steel bat jiji gave him on one of his birthdays, then he expects Sakura and Sasuke to do the job for him, and if not, well then one of these days.

Just one of these days.

He was expecting Sakura sometime some day to win against Ino in a fair and square fight, meaning no talks about that Uchiha with the duck duck goose for a hairstyle, and actually have her own reasons for challenging the better blonde who was better than her in everyway.

…

Yeah he said it.

While the pink's Medical jutsu practice was something he felt proud over and he felt nothing but the best of luck to the pinkette and her training with baa-chan, because he had a feeling she'd be one of the best Konoha had to offer in the future... The wasn't going to win her any fights with Ino, so with a second thought he hoped she practiced on other things besides just that.

And lastly that rival of his who was deemed the oh so Cold Prince back in their academy days. He wanted to at least hear about that Uchiha clan on his journeys out of this village, and since those annoying military police that used to know what he was going to do before he even knew what he was going to do was considered a challenge to him back as a child, it seemed like a good start for the raven haired boy to try and bring the military police back with a vengeance and style to boot.

So if someone was going to bring him back to this village since he would be considered a rouge shinobi, then they best be wearing that military police suit with the pride of an Uchiha, because if not, they were going to get their asses handed to them in spades.

And as for the rest of them…

That crazed duo sensei and student who if they teamed up could possibly kick Kakashi's ass back to Iwa and back, the girl with the endless streams of weapons flying out at just about anything, who if this was a video game right now someone somewhere out there is probably spamming her right now, and that Hyūga who he could admit at least now was stronger than him from what he saw when safe guarding him...

He wished the best.

That team was going to be ridiculous strong once they passed the exams, he just hoped his team would be able to do the trick and hold down the fort while he was gone for he'd say, ten plus years.

He was going to miss them.

* * *

**_Tuesday_**

**_8/25. Four-fifteen; Forest_**

"… I know I was a brat to you Konohagakure," Naruto said as he took a last longing look at the village. "There were rough times, and I didn't really show much respect to the people that came before me and protected the village." he smiled fondly at the child like wonder he once had… And then promptly twisted while painting over the stone faced heroes with utter joy.

"Hope ya can forgive me." there was a sudden wind around the forest that made the boy close his eyes and breath in deeply. You could say that it was to feel out the surroundings that he wouldn't be able to see again, and wanting to get one last breath.

But if you paid attention to the way his skin paled and how he shivered a little, as his face turned into a frown with brows slightly twitching, you would have noticed that it was actually fear.

…

Because he had a sudden feeling that Konohagakure was alive, like some kinda ghost. "Uh…" he opened his now paranoid eyes a little and looked around him a bit with fear. "So um…" he said as he took a sudden gulp and a step back. "Be afraid."

That's when the wind stopped swishing with understanding - ominously he called it - and froze. "I'm not on your side anymore, so be very afraid." the wind did not answer, only making the boy take another step back as he didn't find this to his liking and was actually growing a little more terrified over. Didn't stop him from speaking his mind however. "And the Hokage? You wanna know how I feel about all of them, well guess the guess, I'm still going to surpass them. All of them."

Now a little wind started to pick up.

"You can believe that dattabayo."

The wind was really starting to pick up…

"And you wanna know something else? Huh? Yeah that Danzo fellow, well guess what? I still don't care if he isn't Hokage, I'm not only going to surpass him, I'm going to be a Kage before he even knows what hit him!" he began to yell when realizing the wind was practically taking his voice now.

"How do you like them apples, you applesauce in front of an apple tree that I don't like anymore because I JUST DISCOVERED APPLE PIE, YOU APPLESEED!"

…

The wind didn't like that very much…

But it only got worse when Naruto started laughing.

First a chuckle or two, then a little hiccup, and then a full on laughter. The two stationary chūnin; Kotestu and Izumo looked from afar at their crouched position because of the odd horrifying wind, but proceeded none the less to look at the boy with widen terrified eyes as they saw him laughing only louder.

Naruto's final thought before he left his home was a farewell to his friends, and a hope that they would get his note that his left on his table about what he thought of them and just how much he cherished them.


End file.
